Nursing nipple



-ug. 29, 1950 J, LITTLE 2,520,157

NURSING NIPPLE Filed April 25, 1945 I 2 sheets-sheet 1 l 54 3y ga/31 37 l? 39 i l 38 Mfg-f M95 J7 9 1 ENToR. ma BY .jm gm Aug- 29, 1950 J. LITTLE 2,520,157

NURSING NIPPLE Filed April 25, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 29,l 1950 NURSING NIPPLE .Jesse Little, Warwick, R. .1., fassignor to Davo! a :corporation .of Rhode .Rubber Company, Island SfCIaims. v1

iThe -lpresent invention relates to :nursing bottle arrangements, 'and has :particular n:reference toa novel constructionof afdualpurposeieeding vnipple suitable for :use -with :medium `amouth nursing bottles fand with .i small `mouth nursing and fruit and vegetable .juice Vbottles.

yIt :is the principalrobject i :the invention .to provide .a .novel vnipple construction which yprovides .a continually open airvent when used.

Another I'objectof the invention is fto provide a nipple construction which iszself-iseating'when the retainer v'cap :and "the vnipple 'are fmountedaon the .nursing bottle.

.A further object is itc-provide a nipplefcon.-

struction which can be interchangeablyY mused with a medium mouthnursingbottlefzandfwith a smallmouth bottle.

WithA the -above 'and4 other objects .and radvantageous features .in-view, the r'invention consists of a Ynovelrarrangement of `partszrnore .fully vdescribed in lthe detailed fdescr'iption following', :in conjunction with the accompanying Adrawings, and more specicallyfdeiinedin the claims n.p pended thereto.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is an -elevation'of `:an assembled nursing bottle, feeding nipple, vand Iretainerfcap,tlie' nipple being constructedin accordance lwith the invention;

Fig. 2 isa verticalsectionalfdetail of the npper portion of Fig. 1; v

Fig. 3 Vis :aview similar to Fig. 2, the nipple being in reversed positionand .thebottle sealed for carrying when travelling, or 'for storing in advance oftuse;

Fig. 4 is a top plan View of asuitablezretainer Cap;

Fig. 51s a bottom plan viewthereof;

Fig. '6 isaplan view of a'sealing disk;

Y `g.17 is avertical centralsectional viewthereof; Y

Fig. 8 .is 1an elevation of the .novel eeding nipple;

Fg.l9 isa top plan View thereof;

Fig. 10 is a bottom planview thereof;

Fig. l1 is a vcentral*verticalsection on the line lI-Hof Fig. 10;

..-Fig. 12'isa detail section onthe'linefli--JZ of Fig. 11; and

Fig. 13 is a sectional detail showing the nipple mounted on a small mouth bottle.

The variety of feeding formulae provided for infants because of their age and nursing effects, and the increasing feeding of fruit and vegetable juices, have created a need for an imf2 proved ynipple which Ymay be used for general feeding. :To Itl'iis lend, 1I 'have devised '.a L-'nipple construction 'which 4provides a continually `topen vent when used either lwith afmediumfmouthlbot. tle or with asmall mouthFbottle.

Referring Ato the drawings, the fnovel :nipple 'Hl isl shown mountedfon ya 1 medium mou-th nursing bottle vll Tby means of a-fthreaded retainer cap ill2. The `nipple '10, 'which `is `of El'iolloW itype, has a feeding ltip I3 o'f generally spherical'fshape which is provided fw'ltn one ormore feeding-passages '14, fthree being lthe preferred number, fa. body -portion liwliichhas a'roundedou-ter surfacefand is'of generally Vgreater diameter 'asiillusg trated, and Kan "annular base flange I6 Yof generally-'circularform vThe-outer 'surfaces offthe 'feeding tip andthe body portiongently merge togethen'and the -inner wall of the upper'sectionof thebody portion extendsinwardly and downwardly toprovide la depending flange l1 :and a generally-cylindrical feed channel I8 which communicates lvv'ltl'itthe tip I3 and thepassages AH'L'the resulting thickened area I9 at the upper endof the :body-.por-v tion providing va substantial but yielding Aresistance to the `feeding pressure of the infants mouth. Thebasellange I6, see"Figs.l1`0..and 11, is .provided with a flat lower surface L20 and .a slightly dished or concave upper surface 2l, thus forming a thickened rim .portion 22; an air vent channel or groove 23 is formed in the lower flange surface, preferably .extending radially inwardly from the ilange rim for a substantial distance, and .two .raised bars or .ribs 24' are providedeextending on the sides .of and in slightly spaced parallel .relation ,to the .channel "23.

'Ihebase .flange-ibas the Vusual central circular inlet opening 25, .the edge .being Ypreferablybevelled .as .indicated at 26, and :the lower `section ofthe body portion .extends inwardly Lto 'formfan annular beadl'l Iwhich isfspaced'above `thelovver surface `of .the base Aflange-and forms .an .inner shoulder 28. The inner wall 29 ofathebodyportion is. preferably provided .Withrone or more .vertical ribs 30 which extendovertheupper vsurface 3.1.andvthe.inner.wall"32 of the annularfbeadf.. as illustrated.

The .cap Y. l2A is. preferablymade of asuitablefmaterial suchwasmoldedmhenol condensationjproducts orthe .like,.so that it :may be `reaxiilyfsteriv lized, and has a flat top portion 33 pro-vided with a central opening 34 and a depending internally threaded edge portion 35, the under surface 36 of the top portion tightly engaging the thickended rim portion 22 of the base ange when mounting the nipple on a medium mouth nursing bottle. The under surface 36 may be provided with an annular bead (not shown), if desired, to increase the gripping effect. When the nipple is mounted on a medium mouth nursing bottle there is thus a continuous vent, the air entering through the threaded areas of the bottle and the cap and. through the Vent channel 23.r Since the nipple is made of resilientl rubber or o-f similar material, the two bars 2l. serve to effectively prevent flattening of the vent channel when the retainer cap is tightened.

The nipple and cap parts are proportioned so that the width of the nipple base flange is slightly less than the inner diameter of the cap, and is slightly greater than the inner diameter of the cap threads. When it is desired to mount the nipple on a nursing bottle the sterilized nipple is dropped into the retainer cap and the threading pressure forces the rounded body portion walls, which are resilient, through the capopening and seats the nipple base flange firmly against the lower surface of the cap, with the edge of the cap openingpositioned between the rounded body portion walls and the base flange. The nipple is thus releasably retained within the cap.

Thenipple may be readily reversed on the medium mouth bottle for travelling or for preparing the feeding formula in advancec-f feeding, as shown in Fig. 3. In this position a closure'disl: 31 of rubber or other suitable material having a flange 38V and an elevated circular boss 39 adapted to seat within the retainer cap opening 34, is preferably utilized as illustrated in Fig, 3, thereby the nipple is protected from contacting unsterile surf faces or objects, and also functions as a seal.

Although the novel nipple construction is particularly suitable for use with medium mouth nursing bottles, it is also adapted for use with standard type small mouth nursing bottles, and similar small bottles used for feeding orange juice, tomato juice, and the like, the nipple Parts being arranged to facilitate the mounting and the removal of the nippleV and to increase the feeding effectiveness. When'mounting the nipple on a standard type bottle the neck of the bottle is inserted into the nipple opening past the bevelled edge to contact the inner shoulder 28 of the annular bead 21; a finger of one hand being pressed against the nipple at this point just above the base flange, the other hand readily grasps the opposite end of the flange and draws the nipple over the bottle rim 40 to mount the nipple'as illustrated in Fig. 13. In this position the bottle rim seats within the inner wall 29 of the body portion, and the depending flange I1 depends into the bottle neck. The vertical rib 30 extends around the rim 40 and into contact with the bottle neck to provide narrow air vents at its sides, thus facilitating the feeding operation.

The novel nipple construction is thus a dual purpose device, suitable for use with either a medium mouth nursing bottle or a standard type small mouth bottle, and has special advantages in that it is readily mounted and removed, and in that a continuously open vent is provided which facilitates liquid flow and eliminates all danger of nipple collapse.

While I have described a specific constructional embodiment of nin-sing nipple, it is obvious that the size, the relative arrangement, and the proportions of the nipple and the retainer cap parts may be changed to accord with different feeding requirements, without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A feeding nipple comprising a hollow body portion of generally cylindrical form having its upper walls extendingV inwardly and upwardly to provide a feeding tip having a feeding passage therethrough, and a base flange extending outwardly from the lower walls of the hollow body portion and having a circular rim adapted to seat on the neck of a feeding bottle, the lower surface of the base flange having a radial air vent channel extending inwardly from the rim and adapted to extend over the feeding bottle neckV and a raised bar positioned adjacent the side of the air vent channel.

2. A feeding nipple comprising a hollow body portion of generally cylindrical form having its upper walls extending inwardly and upwardly to provide a feeding tip having a feeding passage therethrough, and a base flange extending e outwardly from the lower walls of the hollow body portion and having a circular rim adapted to seat on the neck of a feeding bottle; the upper surface of the base flange tapering inwardly from the edge to the body portion to provide a thickened rim', the lower surface of the base flange havingra radial air vent channel extending inwardly from the rim and adapted to extend over the feeding bottle neck and a raised bar positioned adjacent the side of the air vent channel.

3. In combination, a medium mouth nursing bottle having a neck, a nipple comprising a body portion terminating in a feeding tip having a feeding passage therethrough, and a base flange having a. circular rim and extending laterally from the lower edge of the body portion, and a retainer cap adapted to be secured to the bottle neck with the nipple base flange mounted on the bottle rim, said nipple base flange having a radial air vent channel in the lower surface thereof extending from the flange rim inwardly to provide an open air vent across the rim of the bottle neck to the bottle interior when so mounted, said lower flange surface having a raised bar positioned adjacent the side of the radial air vent channel.

l JESSE LITTLE.

REFERENCES CITED I The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS (1st addition to Patent 699,712) 

